Columbus College of Art & Design alumni helping create Bath & Body Works products that smell good, look great, and represent the positive impact of diversity in creative fields.
Bath & Body Works is a Fortune 500 business with 1,850 company-owned locations in the U.S. and Canada (and nearly 500 more international franchisees). Headquartered in Columbus, like many of the world’s biggest retail brands, Bath & Body Works has hired a number of talented, skilled CCAD students and alumni over the years—creative thinkers who have found professional success and fulfillment in their work. Their numbers include Katria Judkins (Graphic Design, 2017), an associate designer at Bath & Body Works, and Taylor Scalzo (Graphic Design, 2020), an assistant designer with the personal care and home fragrance retailer.
Both Judkins and Scalzo have made significant contributions to Bath & Body Works’ series of products celebrating diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“We believe that it’s important to spotlight underrepresented professionals in fragrance to raise awareness for their contributions and stories while signaling what’s possible for the next generation,” Bath & Body Works said in a news release announcing the product line.
Graphic Design alum’s Bath & Body Works candle designs celebrate Black History Month
To mark Black History Month in 2024, Bath & Body Works turned the spotlight to Judkins and perfumer Gwen Gonzalez, offering an exclusive, limited-edition candle collection created by the pair.
Judkins has worked at the retailer for six years and was selected to be the first designer to create work for the series.
“Through her use of dreamy colors and golden accents, Judkins captured Gonzalez’s vision for four new fragrances inspired by Gonzalez’s personal memories,” says the news release from Bath & Body Works.
As a graphic designer, Judkins–who was also included in Bath & Body Works’ reformulation campaign—typically works behind the scenes.
“I was really excited to have the opportunity to be featured and celebrated on such a large scale for my work with the company,” she says. “Working directly with the perfumer is also something that we don't get the chance to do, so it was interesting to work with Gwen Gonzalez … and bring her dream to life,” she says.
The candles that resulted from the collaboration are: “You, Me & the Sea” (with notes of blue orchid, fresh eucalyptus and saltwater), “Gwen’s Note” (with notes of creamy sandalwood, sage and soft lavender), “Anna’s Garden” (with notes of orange blossom, white tea and jasmine), and “My Sweet Sisters” (with notes of sugared cinnamon, toasted hazelnut and cake batter).
“I hope that I can inspire more young people to be creative and help them see that there is space in the creative field—whoever they are and wherever they come from,” Judkins says in the Bath & Body Works video.
She expanded on that thought in a later conversation, saying, “CCAD is known for its challenging curriculum. I think that prepares you to think about projects as a problem that needs a solution—and to think of creative solutions.”
Design grad transforms Bath & Body Works’ Butterfly products for Women’s History Month
Scalzo graduated from CCAD in December 2020 and began working at Bath & Body Works in 2021. She is a member of the retailer’s Total Body Care team, which designs packing for most of its core fragrances.
“Last year, I was presented with the opportunity to redesign the Butterfly collection to celebrate Women’s History Month,” says Scalzo. “There are so many women that I look up to and have been inspired by throughout my creative journey. It’s an incredible honor that my work is able to represent something so powerful and hopefully will inspire young women like myself to be confident in themselves and their capabilities.”
Scalzo says as a young adult, she struggled with embracing her feminine side and what it means to be a woman. Once she began designing, she was able to understand and express herself from a new point of view.
“Creating is my way of contributing some sort of beauty to the world and I love being able to express myself and my experience through my designs,” says Scalzo.
For the Butterfly project, Scalzo worked with master performer Honorine Blanc, and learned more about how Blanc created the Butterfly fragrance.
Scalzo says that a butterfly’s transition from caterpillar to its final form is “a powerful representation of the change that women have fought for—and continue to fight for—in our society.” The package design she created is inspired by the natural pattern of a butterfly’s wing and is intended to reference the duality of women: fragile and beautiful; bold and confident.
“I hope that in the future women in the design industry have the space to move freely and express themselves in any way they see fit,” Scalzo shares in a Bath & Body Works video.
CCAD education helps creative talents launch successful careers at Bath & Body Works
Each year, CCAD graduates a class of creative, diverse artists and designers who contribute to the greater Columbus community through their talents and hard work. CCAD alums have a vision for the future and the ability to create innovative business opportunities at places like Bath & Body Works, which has won accolades for its diverse workplace.
Many alumni have built successful retail and design careers at Bath & Body Works in addition to Judkins and Scalzo. Video editor and producer Josh Smukal (Film & Video, 2019) facilitates and directs video projects for the organization (including the videos featuring Judkins and Scalzo). Tom Ramsey (Graphic Design, 1986) was Bath & Body Works’ Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Brand Transformation, and he used his expertise to help launch CCAD’s Master of Professional Studies in Retail Design during his tenure at Bath & Body Works.
Learn more about Columbus College of Art & Design’s Graphic Design and Film & Video programs or our master’s in Retail Design. Apply here.
